AOIFE O'DONOVAN

When USA Today predicted that Aoife O’Donovan would soon become “the newest darling of the Americana set”, it had already been true for quite some time. Aoife is renowned for her ability to breathe magic into anything she sings. Aoife (pronounced EEF-ah) grew up in a musical family, immersed in folk music. She went on to study contemporary improvisation at the New England Conservatory of Music in her hometown of Boston. Since her first professional engagement singing lead for the folk group The Wayfaring Strangers, she has maintained a wide variety of side projects and collaborations, working with numerous other artists including Ollabelle, Sometymes Why, Karan Casey and Seamus Egan, Jerry Douglas, Jim Lauderdale, Darol Anger, Sarah Jarosz, Sara Watkins, Christina Courtin, Noam Pikelny and Chris Thile (Punch Brothers) and Lyle Lovett. Aoife has recorded and performed with Yo-Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer, Stuart Duncan and Chris Thile as a guest vocalist on The Goat Rodeo Sessions (Sony Masterworks Oct 2011). For 10 years, Aoife fronted the alt-bluegrass/string band Crooked Still, which she formed when she was 18. Despite her young age, Aoife has toured in ten different countries, performed with the Boston Pops and the Utah Symphony Orchestra and has appeared on countless radio and television programs. Her natural talent for songwriting came to the attention of Alison Krauss, who recorded Aoife’s song Lay My Burden Down, which is included on Alison’s album Paper Airplane (2011 Rounder Records) and can also be heard in the film Get Low (2010 Sony Pictures). Aoife’s crystalline voice has also been heard on True Blood (HBO) and Private Practice (ABC). In June 2010, Aoife released her first solo recording in the form of a limited edition 7” vinyl. Featuring two original tracks, it garnered rave reviews from audiophiles worldwide. Aoife is currently performing shows with her band, Ryan Scott on guitar, Robin MacMillan on drums, Jacob Silver on bass and Charlie Rose on Pedal Steel, with plans to record a full length album due for release in 2013. “A splendid, folksy singer whose voice soars” ~TimeOut New York “O’Donovan. Aoife O’Donovan. Remember that name, because with a sultry voice that makes her sound like a blusier Alison Krauss, she’s about to become the newest darling of the Americana set.” ~USA Today “…her naturalistic phrasing and effortless control belie the complex structural ideas swirling around her. In an alluring, soft-spoken husk, she sings with complete emotional credibility, whether navigating dense, jazzy slides or haunted old-timey trills.” ~The Boston Globe